Zayd Issah, Penn State football recruit, arrested for using counterfeit bills … at a McDonald’s

One of the key in-state recruits from Penn State’s incoming class finds himself in serious hot water for what can only be considered a truly, truly dumb decision: He tried to pay with fake money at fast food restaurants.

As reported by the Harrisburg Patriot News and a variety of other sources, for the sake of saving a few bucks Harrisburg (Pa.) Central Dauphin High senior Zayd Issah now faces felony charges of forgery and conspiracy to forgery, as well as other misdemeanor charges related to using fake money at mutliple fast food restaurants.

Issah was caught by employees at a McDonald’s, who recognized that the money Issah gave them to pay for food bought by the Central Dauphin star and two of his friends. The McDonald’s employees wrote down the license plate on Issah’s car and reported it to police, who tracked down the football star and arrested him.

There has been no word out of State College about how the trial facing Issah will affect his status with the Nittany Lions, though from a logistical standpoint it appears likely that he could still be a part of the 2013 team.

The Dauphin County District Attorney’s office told the Patriot News that Issah would likely avoid jail time and could even be eligible for a program called the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program, which would allow the athlete to serve out his sentence via probation and community service alone.